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Last Updated: 19 February 2013

01.05.2007, [16:57] // UGCC // risu.org.ua

Poland – On 29 April 2007, the 60th anniversary of Operation Vistula, the hierarchs of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church (UGCC) in Poland, Archbishop Ivan (Jan) Martyniak of Przemysl and Warsaw and Bishop Wolodymyr Juszczak of Wroclaw and Gdansk released an address to the faithful of the UGCC in which they mention the great losses for the UGCC caused by Operation Vistula.

The text of the address notes that “the primary goal of Operation Vistula was to solve the ‘Ukrainian issue’ in post-war Poland, i.e., the total assimilation of the Ukrainian population in its new place of residence.” Also, the document states that “for many long years, Soviet propaganda claimed that the key reason for the action of the expulsion of Ukrainians from their native land was the murder of General Karol Swierczewski and the struggle against units of the Ukrainian Insurgent Army. Available documents prove that this was just a shameful pretext, since the need for the resettlement of Ukrainians was discussed by the Ministry of State Defense back in 1946 before Swierczewski’s death on 27 March 1947.”

RISU note: During Operation Vistula, conducted by the Soviet and Communist Polish governments at the end of World War II, thousands of Poles and Ukrainians were forcibly removed from their native territories. Generally, Poles were removed from what was then Soviet Ukraine and taken to the territory of post-World War II Poland and Ukrainians were taken from Poland to Soviet Ukraine.

Source and previous related RISU news:

• http://www.cerkiew.net/news.php?extend.77
• http://www.risu.org.ua/eng/news/article;15402/

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Last Updated: 19 February 2013

Killings and Persecution Continue

By Father John Flynn

ROME, APRIL 30, 2007 (Zenit.org).- The blood of martyrs continues to be shed in Turkey. The April 18 killing of two Turks and a German at a Christian publishing house in Malatya, in eastern Turkey, renewed concerns over the fate of Christians in the country. The three victims were found with their hands and legs bound and their throats slit.

The three men worked at the Zirve publishing house, which had previously been the object of protests for allegedly distributing Bibles and proselytizing, reported the London-based Times newspaper April 19.

The same day the BBC reported that 10 people were arrested in connection with the murders. The BBC added that many commentators noted the similarity of the latest killings to the murder of a Catholic priest by a teenage gunman last year and the shooting of the Armenian journalist, also a Christian, in January. In each case the killers were young, apparently Islamist ultra-nationalists.

Turkish Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul said the killings were "an attack against Turkey's stability, peace and tradition of tolerance," according to the BBC.

In February, the Pope's vicar for the Diocese of Rome, Cardinal Camillo Ruini, visited Turkey to commemorate the anniversary of the murder of Father Andrea Santoro. The Italian missionary was shot dead Feb. 5, 2006, in St. Mary's Catholic Church in Trabzon, northeast Turkey.

Cardinal Ruini said during his homily Feb. 5 in the church where the priest had been murdered: "We have come to help promote peace among peoples and religions, respect for the beliefs of each person and love for the brother or sister present in every human person created in the image and likeness of God," reported the Fides news agency the same day.

"We have come to promote religious freedom everywhere in the world, and to ask God to illuminate all minds and hearts to understand that only in freedom and love of neighbor can God be truly adored," the cardinal added.

Islamic extremists

Malatya, like Trabzon, is an Islamic stronghold, observed Mechthild Brockamp in an April 19 commentary published by the German agency Deutsche Welle. He noted that journalist Hrant Dink was also killed in Malatya earlier this year, and underlined the Islamic element in the shooting of Father Santoro, which took place during fevered protests against the caricatures of Mohammed.

Each time one of these attacks occurs authorities call it an exceptional case, said Brockamp. But the number of such cases means that it is more a pattern than an exception, he observed. Brockamp called upon the government to resolve the underlying issue of religious freedom and to ensure that the Christian minority is able to practice its faith without putting their lives at risk.

These are sentiments shared by the German magazine Der Spiegel, in an article published online April 23. The latest murders reveal a deep-seated problem, the magazine argued. The article quoted Ertugrul Ozkok, editor-in-chief of the leading secular Turkish daily Hurriyet, who noted that in Germany, Turks residing there have opened up more than 3,000 mosques. He asked in an editorial: "If in our country we cannot abide even by a few churches, or a handful of missionaries, where is our civilization?"

An article published April 25 by the Christian Science Monitor cited Christian missionaries in Turkey as saying that they now have more freedom to carry out their work due to reforms enacted as part of the country's attempt to enter into the European Union. At the same time violent attacks against Christian targets are becoming more frequent.

Last year, the article noted, several evangelical churches were firebombed, and a Protestant church leader in the city of Adana was severely beaten by a group of assailants.

The report also opined that while there is a religious dimension to the recent murders of Christians, some experts also attribute them to the influence of extreme nationalism and anti-Western xenophobia that are on the rise in Turkey.

Nevertheless, other news reports testify to the considerable difficulties Christians face when they try to practice their faith. Both Christians and intellectuals are frequent targets of legal action taken under article 301 of the penal code. The article allows people to be charged for denigrating "Turkish identity," explained a report by Compass Direct News last Nov. 27.

Compass Direct is a Christian news service based in California, reporting on religious persecution. The report presented the case of Hakan Tastan and Turan Topal, who appeared Nov. 23 before the Silivri Criminal Court, located in northwestern Turkey.

As Muslims converted to Christianity, they were accused not only of denigrating Turkish identity, but also of reviling Islam. "We don't use force to tell anyone about Christianity," Tastan said to the media outside the courtroom according to Compass Direct. "But we are Christians, and if the Lord permits, we will continue to proclaim this," he added.

Christians likened to terrorists

Compass Direct also reported that attorney Kemal Kerincsiz, who intervened for the prosecution, is notorious for his actions against intellectuals using article 301. "Christian missionaries working almost like terrorist groups are able to enter into high schools and among primary school students," Kerincsiz told reporters. The court case against the two Christians is still underway.

Further difficulties were reported in an article published by the Boston Globe last Dec. 9. The newspaper referred to the difficulties faced by Metropolitan Apostolos, a Greek Orthodox bishop.

In 1971, the government shut down the Halki theological seminary on Heybeliada, an island in the Sea of Marmara. The school had trained generations of Orthodox leaders, but authorities closed it, along with other private religious schools. In the meantime the Greek Orthodox community in Turkey has dwindled to 3,000, from 180,000 in 1923.

In general, noted the Boston Globe, Turkey's religious minorities including about 68,000 Armenian Orthodox, 20,000 Catholics, 23,000 Jews, and 3,000 Greek Orthodox face numerous legal restrictions.

Catholics, for example, encounter considerable difficulties when it comes to obtaining legal rights over property and work permits for clergy and nuns, explained Otmar Oehring, in an article written for the Forum 18 news service Jan. 18. The Norwegian-based Forum 18 reports on issues related to religious freedom.

Places of worship of minority communities which are allowed to maintain legally-recognized community foundations -- such as the Greek Orthodox, the Armenians, the Syrian Orthodox and the Jews -- are owned by these foundations, commented Oehring.

But Catholics and Protestants are not allowed to set up such foundations. Consequently, title deeds indicate that the congregations or church communities themselves own the buildings. Yet the state often refuses to recognize this. Additional legal obstacles include problems in setting up bank accounts and in publishing religious books and magazine.

At the time of Benedict XVI's visit to Turkey at the end of last year, Vatican representatives and government officials discussed the possibility of establishing a mixed working group to resolve the Catholic Church's problems in Turkey, according to Oehring. There has been little or no progress on the matter, however.

During his visit, the Pope held a meeting with the president of the government's religious affairs directorate. In his address, given Nov. 28, the Pontiff called for an "authentic dialogue between Christians and Muslims, based on truth and inspired by a sincere wish to know one another better, respecting differences and recognizing what we have in common."

The Pope also called for freedom of religion, "institutionally guaranteed and effectively respected in practice." A call that takes on greater urgency after the recent attacks.

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Last Updated: 19 February 2013

Says Serving Patients Is a Corporal Work of Mercy

KIEV, Ukraine, APRIL 30, 2007 (Zenit.org).- The Church must never fail to support those infected with HIV/AIDS and work to overcome the stigma often associated with the disease, says the archbishop of Glasgow, Scotland.

That was the message given Thursday by Archbishop Mario Conti at the three-day HIV/AIDS conference organized by Caritas Europa in Kiev.

Archbishop Conti told delegates from all over Europe that assisting those living with HIV/AIDS is a modern corporal work of mercy.

Reminding his audience that the Church has a long tradition of ministering to those rejected by society, the 73-year-old archbishop called for more efforts to overcome mistaken prejudices about the Church's attitude to AIDS.

Archbishop Conti said: "It needs to be said again and again that the Catholic Church is committed to those works of mercy in the field of HIV/AIDS. It is very regrettable that such a message rarely gets across.

"Prejudice assumes that because the spread of the virus in some cases is through sexual intercourse, the Catholic Church will be unsympathetic to its victims."

"Worse still," the archbishop continued, "an accusation has been leveled at the Church that its attitude and teaching against the use of condoms has been a factor in the spread of the disease."

Providing health care

Archbishop Conti said that the Church is the leading caregiver for AIDS victims.

"Neutral estimates suggest that 25% of all people in the world living with HIV/AIDS are being assisted or cared for by the Catholic Church and its institutions," he said. "Indeed, there is no larger provider of health care to this group.

"The Church is being most true to itself when presenting a vision of life and a program of human behavior which becomes the dignity of man and woman in one of the most significant interrelational acts, namely that of conjugal love."

The Glasgow prelate added: "Where that vision is embraced and that practice endorsed we can see the fruits are not only discernible in cultural terms but also in terms of public health.

"Uganda is one of the greatest success stories in the fight against AIDS, with its abstinence program bringing down the HIV infection rate from more than 30% to below 6%."

Archbishop Conti said, "Restoring people's confidence and helping them overcome prejudice is an essential part of any work with HIV/AIDS patients. In doing so, Church agencies must lead by example."

Code: ZE07043011

Date: 2007-04-30

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Says Press Is a Meeting Place for Many Traditions

ROME, APRIL 30, 2007 (Zenit.org).- Modern means of communication can become a venue for interreligious dialogue, says a professor of theology and ecumenism.

Joan-Andreu Rocha Scarpetta is the director of the master's program "Church, Ecumenism and Religions" at the Regina Apostolorum university in Rome.

He addressed participants in the meeting on "Religion in the Press: Catholicism and Other Religions in Both Lay and Religious Daily Newspapers," which was recently held at the Pontifical Gregorian University.

Rocha explained: "The press becomes a space for dialogue between various religions in the strict sense that it offers a space for believers of different religious traditions to get closer, for example, through interviews with representatives of various religions on specific social questions.

"It is also a place of dialogue when it echoes the concrete ecumenical process of cooperation and dialogue taking place between the different religious groups."

In the end, it becomes a place for dialogue "when it contributes to overcoming stereotypes and tries to transmit the religious reality in accurate terms," he added.

Language conflict

Rocha nevertheless noted that "there is a conflict between the language of the press and religious language."

While "the language of the press, for reasons of space and time, tends toward simplification," one can see how "speaking about religion requires subtlety and long essays," he said.

The professor contended that "the goal of interreligious dialogue is not to negotiate one's identity or create one religion overcoming religious pluralism," but rather "to try, above all, to establish a relationship of the identity of the other, to recognize him in himself as an 'other,' different but similar, overcoming centuries of prejudice and misunderstandings."

"Interreligious dialogue in the press in possible," Rocha concluded, as long as "the journalist tries to overcome stereotypes and gives a voice to all the various factors that make up a religious tradition" and as long as "the followers of that religion themselves learn to speak about their religious identity in a language that is understandable to public opinion."

Code: ZE07043001

Date: 2007-04-30

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Receives Death Threat for Defending Marriage

GENOA, Italy, APRIL 30, 2007 (Zenit.org).- Archbishop Angelo Bagnasco of Genoa said he won't be intimidated after receiving another death threat, seemingly in response to his defense of the family founded on marriage.

The president of the Italian bishops' conference found an envelope in his residence on Friday, containing a bullet and a photo of himself with a swastika drawn on it, the Genoan daily newspaper Il Corriere Mercantile reported.

Armed bodyguards have accompanied the 64-year-old archbishop since the beginning of April, when threatening graffiti were found on the cathedral door and along the streets of Genoa.

The threats came following Archbishop Bagnasco's public declarations in defense of the traditional family founded on marriage between a man and a woman, specifically the Italian bishops' "Note Regarding the Family Founded on Marriage and Legislative Initiatives Concerning Civil Unions."

In the note, the prelates reminded Catholic politicians and lawmakers of their duty not to vote for legislation in favor of civil unions or laws that would favor the legal recognition of homosexual couples.

Stronger and clearer

Cardinal Camillo Ruini, the Pope's vicar for Rome, and the previous president of the Italian episcopal conference, asserted that the Catholic Church in Italy will not be intimidated.

His words were published today in the Italian daily newspaper Corriere della Sera.

"Faced with these attempts at intimidation, we want everyone to know that we will speak, if necessary, in a stronger and clearer way," said the cardinal.

Archbishop Bagnasco has spoken several times about the implicit dangers in legislation adopted by the Italian government Feb. 8, which points to offering legal recognition of de facto unions between homosexual or heterosexual couples.

On March 26, at the beginning of the Italian bishops' permanent council meeting, Archbishop Bagnasco stressed that the prelates are firm in their decision to defend "the utter uniqueness of the family in order to help the family, educate it and value it for the good -- present and future -- of humanity."

He added that they will fight "so that families will not give in under the pressures of those lobbies that are able to negatively influence the legislative process."

Code: ZE07043002

Date: 2007-04-30

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Last Updated: 19 February 2013

But Cardinal Defends Church, Citing Catechism

ROME, APRIL 30, 2007 (Zenit.org).- Church officials criticized a European Parliament resolution that condemns "discriminatory comments" made by political and religious leaders against homosexuals.

The resolution, which passed 325-124, with 150 abstentions, condemns the "discriminatory comments formulated by politicians and religious leaders about homosexuals, as fermenting hatred and violence -- even if they were later withdrawn -- and it asks that the hierarchies of the respective organizations condemn them as well."

The European Parliament did refuse to include the proposal of three Italians to publicly condemn Archbishop Angelo Bagnasco for his statements against homosexuals, which were falsely interpreted by the press and then later clarified.

The approved resolution invites member states to propose laws "that overcome discriminations suffered by same sex couples" and "reminds all member states that the prohibition of the Gay Pride Parade and the lack of protection offered to its participants are against the principles of the European Convention of human rights."

The resolution also proposes that an annual "International Day Against Homophobia" be held on May 17.

Time to settle

Cardinal Angelo Scola of Venice and Cardinal Peter Erdo and Monsignor Aldo Giordano, president and secretary-general of the Council of European Bishops' Conferences, respectively, defended the Church against accusations that it doesn't respect homosexual persons.

"There is no homophobia in the Catholic Church and it is time that all this ended," Cardinal Scola said on Thursday to the Italian bishops' television network, Sat 2000.

Referring to the European Parliament, he said: "There needs to be more respect for the orientation of our people. There is no need to tell lies."

Paolo Bustaffa, director of the Italian bishops' SIR news agency, told Vatican Radio last Thursday: "It is clear that they are suspicious of the Church's thinking in regard to these situations, these people, for whom -- the Catechism of the Catholic Church says -- the Church has a great respect."

"Respect for people, however, cannot nullify a problematic aspect," he added. "There must be understanding but in many cases there cannot be justification."

Code: ZE07043004

Date: 2007-04-30